Andrew Morsell P.E.

Submitted by TylerMitchell on Wed, 2007-02-07 02:13.

Date:

31 May 2006

Abstract:

Andrew Morsell (amorsell) is a MapGuide user and part of the Autodesk developer network. Andrew is not just an ordinary fellow, he owns Spatial Integrators, Inc., a GIS consulting company located in Spokane, Washington. Let's learn some more about this very interesting member of our OSGeo community. Read more...

Details:

Andrew Morsell is a MapGuide user and part of the Autodesk developer network. Andrew is not just an ordinary fellow, he owns Spatial Integrators, Inc., a GIS consulting company located in Spokane, Washington. Let's learn some more about this very interesting member of our OSGeo community.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself.
A: I own and operate Spatial Integrators, Inc., a GIS consulting company located in Spokane, Washington. We are in our fourth year and business is going very well. Prior to working in the GIS business, I worked in the engineering / environmental consulting world in my home town of Anchorage, Alaska after attending college at the University of Nevada - Reno. I am a registered Civil Engineer and I have am M.S. degree in geological engineering. Other than running the company and doing project work, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. My kids are at the age (8 and 6) where our lives are consumed by their sports. Basketball and skiing leads to spring soccer which leads to baseball and then more soccer in the fall..... I also enjoy skiing, running, mountain biking, fly fishing and traveling.

Q: How long have you been working in the geospatial domain and why?
A: About 8 years after 5 years in engineering. Moving into the geospatial and programming domains seemed to be a natural progression from doing a lot of design and CAD work and being computer savvy. Doing engineering field work in the middle of winter in Alaska was also getting a bit old.

Q: What are you using geospatial software for what software are you using to get the job done (we want to know about both commercial and open source)?
A: Since I am a consultant, I tend to use the best tool for the job for whatever client I am working with. Some of those tools include the Autodesk suite of products; Map and the older MapGuide, ESRI ArcGIS, Safe Software FME, Oracle Spatial, Blue Marble, PCI Geomatica, and so on. We have been focusing on MapGuide Open Source development services recently.

Q: What attracted you to the projects you are using/participating in?
A: I have always had a good relationship with Autodesk as both a member of the developer network in addition to being a sub-contractor to their consulting division. I had an opportunity to review what is now MapGuide Open Source very early in the development life cycle and have been working with it full-steam-ahead since.

Q: Are you involved with any of the OSGeo governance or committees?
A: No. Although I do participate quite heavily in the MapGuide Open Source users mailing list.

Q: What open source projects are you contributing to as a developer?
A: None at this time but I anticipate that changing as the MapGuide Open Source project continues and we identify areas where we can contribute.
Q: What open source projects do you consider yourself a user and why are you using them (remember to use the full URL)?
A: MapGuide Open Source (https://mapguide.osgeo.org/).

Q: Is your company using code from these projects and if so please describe how/why if you can?
A: Yes, we are supplying implementation and customization services around MapGuide Open Source and have done quite a bit of custom API coding around this.